1. Field of Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate, in general, to network management. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to methods and systems for collateral configuration in a network.
2. Description of the Background Art
Collateral configuration refers to changes made in the configuration of network devices to access a particular service in a network. Services in the network can include services for file transfer, application transfer, remote access to the Internet or to a virtual private network (VPN), domain name services, database access, electronic mail, and so forth. The configuration change can include opening IP ports, creating packet filtering rules, altering packet header information, traffic identification, rate limiting of sessions, among others. The configuration of a network device can be altered by one of two methods: static or dynamic. Static configuration involves removing network devices temporarily from the network in order to configure them. Dynamic configuration involves configuration of a network device while it is still functioning in the network.
Typically, collateral configuration of the network device involves a network administrator. The network administrator configures the network device by reading release notes, configuration manuals, or installation guides for the network device. Unfortunately, this material can often be out dated and no longer accurate. For example, enabling a web server on a non standard port (like ‘Cisco works’ running on port 1741) requires the configuration of the router/firewall in the path of the web server by the network administrator to permit traffic to the port 1741.
With the emergence of new network technologies and services, collateral configuration has become more complex. Conventional methods of collateral configuration are difficult to apply in large network setups. The network administrator may need to open up certain ports on a large number of network devices to enable a particular service to become operational in the network. Further, collateral configuration by conventional methods becomes more complex in case of removal of a service from a large network, and configuration of the same service in another network. For example, manual decommissioning of a VPN service from a network and configuration of VPN service in another network requires the network administrator to manually remove configuration from all network devices related to the VPN service. The complexity of the manual collateral configuration increases with an increase in network size if different devices are used for the service. Therefore, the conventional methods do not provide flexibility or ease in achieving collateral configuration in a network.